About Melisa

Melisa Buie makes lasers and solves problems. She was the Global Director for Lean Operational Excellence at Coherent, Inc., a $2B global photonics solutions company, where she works on both engineering and business problems. She has extensive experience in operations and engineering, lean manufacturing, and global implementation.

Melisa is passionate about Lean, not just as a manufacturing practice but also as a way of life in engineering and business practice. She is committed to bringing problem solving to all levels of the corporation and works with a global leadership team dedicated to a cultural transformation with lean.

Melisa published her first book, Problem Solving for New Engineers: What Every Engineering Manager Wants You to Know, in the summer of 2017 which grew out of her industry work and lecturing for San Jose State University in the Department of Biomedical, Chemical, and Materials Engineering from 2007 until 2016.  She has co-authored more than 40 journal publications, holds 5 patents and speaks globally.

Melisa has extensive industry experience. Prior to joining Coherent, Melisa was a Member of the Technical Staff and an Engineering Manager at Applied Materials, Inc. and Advanced Energy. She also worked as a Research Scientist for Science Applications International Corporation working at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. where she made theoretical lasers.

Melisa holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department. She has an M.S. from Auburn University Department of Physics with certifications from Stanford University, Santa Clara University and American Society for Quality. She taught M.S. level courses for more than 10 years at San Jose State University Chemical and Materials Engineering Department.